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Padmé came up behind her husband, a ceramic mug clutched between her hands while she took another small sip of her morning coffee. He stood in the middle of the large, front picture window, both hands on his hips and staring out at the snow as it fell like a blanket across the front yard.
“You’re really giving off the dad energy this morning, Ani,” she said, stifling a giggle.
Their twins were still tucked away in their bedrooms, and she could only imagine what the reaction was going to be when they woke up and saw the snowfall. They were finally at an age to really enjoy it now that they were a little bit bigger and she wasn’t quite as terrified one of them would slip on a patch of ice and permanently traumatize her and them both. Not that she was sure to be keen for whatever plan her husband would come up with, either.
She swore the man thought their children were made of steel. And after her fair share of boo-boo kissing when it was nothing more than a softly stubbed toe, she knew that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Anakin looked over his shoulder before turning around. “Just thinking about how I should be out there shoveling already.”
“The snow’s still coming down. We don’t need to go out there yet.” She shook her head, leaning into his chest and resting her face against him.
“We?”
“Do you honestly think Luke and Leia are going to see you playing in the snow and not want to join in?”
He laughed and rested his chin on top of her head. “That’s fair, I guess. They take after you. Freaking polar bears.”
Polar bears… It wasn’t her fault she’d seen snow before. Unlike him who still had a tendency to act like every snowflake was the first he’d ever seen. The last year when they were sufficiently snowed in for a week and a half, she wasn’t sure whether he or Leia were more disappointed she didn’t think they should spend every waking moment outside in it.
“You’re the one that can’t wait to strap them to a sled, skis, a snowboard. Whatever. And you’re the one out there frolicking around like one of Santa’s reindeer,” she said, poking him with her elbow. From the Northeast or not, she would gladly keep herself indoors, in the warmth.
His eyes brightened and he grinned at her. “They love it! You know they love it.”
“And you love that they give you an excuse to be a kid again.”
“Touché,” he said with a kiss to her forehead. “But we know Mama is gonna stop us in our tracks, hmm?”
She pulled herself away and grabbed the homemade quilt his mom had given her for her birthday, covered in photos of their children, on her way to the couch. “Actually… Mama is gonna sit right here in this corner of the couch, light a few candles, and let aromatherapy and a cozy book take me away. Hopefully to an island resort. Dad’s in charge, mom’s off duty.”
Anakin raised his eyebrow in suspicion. “That sounds very… un-mom-like of you. Are you sick or something?”
“Nope. Couldn’t be better, in fact.”
Padmé searched for the lighter before walking around the living room and popping the lids off of her favorite candles. A mix of winter scents that reminded her of her grandma’s house. The smell of vanilla and cinnamon radiating from her kitchen. The scent of cedar and balsam from the real tree her grandma insisted they have every year without fail, and whiffs of peppermint from the candy canes hanging from its branches. It certainly wasn’t a complete replacement but it was as close as she got these days.
Her husband eyed her carefully while she finished creating her quiet place, and grabbed a book from her bookshelf.
“Are you… sure?”
She curled herself around a pillow and set her empty coffee mug on the sofa table behind her. “I am so sure, Anakin. You’ve got this.” She sunk down into the cushions and pulled the blanket up to her neck. “I believe in you.”
She could nearly see the sweat beading at his brow as he quickly looked between her and the open window to watch the snow continue to fall. As if he was going to be toppled by their children if she didn’t join in their activities. But there was nothing that sounded better to her than to tuck her nose in the romance book she never had a chance to read anymore and tend to her frozen family at a much later time.
Hesitantly, Anakin let out a soft chuckle. “Okay…”
Just as she had foreseen, her rambunctious little ones came bounding down the stairs and sprinted toward the large window as their father had. They “ooh’d” and “ahh’d,” marveling at the large snow drift that had blown up around the window. It reminded her of a picturesque movie scene, with their tiny features pressed against the glass, and snow that framed the corners of the window.
“It’s got to be tall as daddy,” Luke mumbled, his small hands gripping at the trim.
“Nuh uh,” Leia said. “Daddy’s too big. But…”
They both turned their heads to look at her. She lowered the book momentarily and her eyebrows rose, waiting for the inevitable.
“What is it?”
Leia drew her mouth to one side, then the other, before she smiled. “Is the snow bigger than you?”
She snorted softly, tucking the bookmark in between the pages again. “I don’t think so. That would have to be pretty tall.”
“But…” Luke started, running across the room to jump onto the sofa where she sat. “Are you sure?”
Leia stared out the window again, tracing the falling snowflakes outside with a finger on the glass. “How do you know?”
“Because Mama just knows,” she said, lifting a corner of her blanket while her son snuggled in against her. “I think your Daddy’s getting ready to go outside.”
A chorus of small gasps came from across the room and at her side as both kids perked up at that idea. “Really?!”
She laughed, ruffling her son’s hair. “Yes, really. If you want to go play, you have to get dressed really warm though. Otherwise you can’t be out there very long before you’ll have to come snuggle with me again.”
Leia rushed over to join her other side, climbing unceremoniously into her lap. “Can’t you come and play, too?”
Padmé reached behind her to set the book beside her discarded cup and looked to Leia, then Luke, small pleading eyes staring back at her. “You don’t need me to come out there, too. Do you? I’m sure Daddy will pull you around in the sled if you ask him nicely.”
“But what if he doesn’t?”
“Yeah! You got to!”
“Got to, Mama!!”
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” Their little voices cheered, hands grabbing at her own.
Padmé smiled at them and placed a kiss on both their heads. “I promise you’ll have fun. But… If after awhile you really miss me, I’ll be right here and you can come back and we’ll make cookies. Deal?”
Luke and Leia looked at each other, Leia’s face pulled tight in contemplation for the alternate plan. Padmé knew in her heart that they’d forget all about her once Anakin had them assembling a snowman or kicking snow around to make snow angels. It was just getting them out the door she had to worry about.
After their lengthy deliberation, Luke finally spoke up. “But we want cookies!”
“Ooh,” Leia chimed in, squishing her cheeks together with her hands. “Yeah! Cookies!”
“Someone say something about cookies?” Anakin asked on his way down the stairs. He reached over the back of the couch and pulled Luke up into the air making their son giggle.
“Mama’s making them!” Luke exclaimed, proudly.
“She is?” Anakin asked, and Padmé mirrored his question with her own.
“Excuse me, now. Mama said we would all make cookies. And that was only if you didn’t have fun playing outside!”
Anakin playfully dropped Luke onto the couch and marched around in front of them. Since he was fully dressed in his snow gear—complete with a homemade scarf she knew wouldn’t last once he was out of her sight—his heavy boots thumped against the hardwood, exaggerating his melodramatic point.
“Well, well, well… Who said they aren’t going to have fun? Hm?” Anakin put his hands on his hips and bent to look their kids in the eye. He inhaled a deep breath to suppress the amusement beneath his serious expression. Leia quickly ducked beneath her blanket, laughing, and left Luke to fend for himself.
Luke pressed a finger to his lip with a drawn out, “Um…” that Anakin made along with him until he shrugged and threw his small hands in the air. “Not me, Daddy!”
“Me neither!” Leia confirmed, her voice muffled by the blanket as she scooted further into Padmé’s lap.
“That’s what I thought,” Anakin confirmed with a head nod. “Because Dad’s already dug out the sleds and picked the perfect place for the snowman to go. We’re even adding a carrot this year!”
Both of their children cheered, Leia flipping the blanket back over her head to join the celebration. And just like that… Padmé’s living room was empty with Anakin leading the twins upstairs to get dressed and then to the mud room for coats, gloves, hats, and boots. She leaned back into the plushness of the sofa cushion, snickering to herself as Luke told Leia she looked like a marshmallow with feet and her daughter shot back that he looked like an elf.
With silence and the sweet aroma of Christmas memories filling the room again, Padmé dove back into the love life of Daphne Vincent—enjoying the fact she no longer related to the problems of romance novel protagonists. Five minutes into their time in the snow, she hoped the thought of cookies would be far from the mind of her family, but… She should probably take the butter out of the fridge, just in case.
Not before she finished her chapter, though.